Carved birdcage faces its decline in Hong Kong

Produced by
Vickie LIU Yanfei, Aria JIANG Shuyi, Emma REN Xiaoxiao, from Hong Kong Baptist University.

Handmade birdcage master Chan Luo-choi’s routine becomes revamping cages instead of crafting new ones. The 73-year-old said that the handcraft is dying now and he is one of few handmade birdcage masters in Hong Kong.

Chan opened his own store in 1971. Compared with people at present who only want big cages for their pet birds, people preferred to customize cages fitting their birds in the past. He added that during 1970s and 1980s, the store enjoyed prosperous business.

However, in the wake of several waves of bird flu in Hong Kong, the government forbade people to carry birds into public transport, causing the decline of aviculture and birdcages’ demands. Chan said that there is unreasonable to restrict the pet birds since people fond of birds take the utmost care to keep birds healthy and hygienic.

“No one wants to be apprentice so it’s hard to talk about inheritance,” he said in his current store located in the Bird Street.